Producing The Inbetween
by Keolee Combatir
Summary: What if Neku had shot Joshua in the final game? What would happen in the aftermath...


**DON'T OWN**

"Producing the In-between"

The Scramble Crossing, the main area in the Shibuya District in Japan, the area where many people gather to chat, and is most commonly used crossing in all of Shibuya. Usually filled with hundreds of people, this place serves as a meeting ground for most of them. Scramble is surrounded on all sides by sky scraping, advertisement littered building, featuring lights, televisions, and numerous banners. It is covered with traffic lights, and many cars are normally seen driving about. On this particular day however, the Scramble was rather empty, except for four sleeping siblings, each of whom will have a significant impact on what is about to happen.

"Ung… unh…" groans Shiro, the oldest of the four, as he slowly begins to wake up. He opens his eyes, only to realize he is not in his bed. He jumps up and looks around to get his bearings.

"Scr…Scramble Crossing…?" He stops to thinks for a moment about yesterday.

"Chiyomi… Chiyomi wake up." He says while shaking his sister. Slowly, the black haired girl looks over to him, and smiles slightly.

"Oh… good morning Shiro." She snuggles closer to her younger brother Shinta and closes her eyes.

"Damnit Chiyomi… wake up!" He shakes her fiercely. She groans and angrily stands up to glare at him.

"What the hell are you doing, waking me up early on my only day off…? I should beat… you… for… that…" she looks at her surrounding to see Scramble Crossing. "WHAT THE HELL… WHY ARE WE IN SCRAMBLE?" She exclaims.

"Pipe down Sis." A female voice responds as the girl with brown hair turns to face Chiyomi. "I'm trying to sleep." She mutters not wanting to open her eyes.

"Konoka… please wake up…," says Shiro as he slowly wakes Shinta. "Good morning little bro." A tiny smile appears on Shiro's face.

"Go…Good morning Onii-san." He mutters as he opens his eyes. "Why are we at scramble Onii-san?" he asks seeming to be half-asleep rather than confused. Shiro shakes his head. "Well…" he replies as he begins to recall the events of the night before.

Last night, Shiro, being 22 and the oldest male in the family since there parents had passed away, decided to treat his hardworking siblings to a night on the town. Ever since his parents passed away, Shiro has become the father figure for his siblings. He has truly grown into an adult before his time. Shiro, being 13 at the time of his mothers passing, worked to help support his family, and take care of there sick father, who suffered more from a broken heart than any traditional illness. After his fathers passing, Shiro, being 15 at the time, decides to throw away his dreams and desires in order to take care of his younger siblings.

The family, as they usually did, had trouble choosing a place to go. Both Chiyomi and Konoka, being 18 and 17 respectively, wanted to go club hopping, little 12-year-old Shinta on the other hand, wanted to spend time at the local Arcade. Shiro decided to take them to the Dogenzaka Area. After pulling some strings with his best friend and bouncer, they were able to get into the trendiest and most happening restaurant in the Shibuya area, "SHADOW RAMEN." The food was bland and tasteless, but the entertainment was great, and Shinta had his fun with the miniature arcade. Upon leaving, Shiro was handed a strange note. "Open up your world and enter the game." The note read. He carelessly tossed it aside. The last thing that he and his siblings would remember was a strange sensation, and a light moving towards them.

"Yeah… Shadow Ramen was awesome!" Konoka shrieks as she looks to Chiyomi, who looks visibly upset. "Hey sis… what's wrong?"

"It's nothing Kono-chan…" she replies as she looks at a crumpled piece of paper.

"What is that Onii-san?" Shinta grabs the piece of paper. "Good luck?" he says curiously, as he reads the note aloud. "Maybe it has something to do with that game we are supposed to play!" he utters rather excitedly.

"Listen up little bro… I doubt that this note has any bearing on anything, let's just leave it here and head home." Shiro answers rather coldly.

"I wouldn't do that Mr. Fujiwara." Says a mysterious voice unexpectedly. "I suggest that you and your siblings here play my little game, unless of course you like being dead." The voice declares with a rather arrogant laughter.

"Onii-san I'm scared." Cries Shinta. "Where is this voice coming from?" He says as he hugs Shiros leg.

"Who are you?" Shiro shouts, trying to remain calm so as not scare his little brother.

"Please meet me at my Café on Cat Street. All will be explained there." Oh… And if you haven't noticed, the world is on pause for this little game, so don't worry about anything but the task at hand." States the voice rather ominously.

"…Ok… whatever." Says Shiro in an obviously annoyed tone. "Guys, what do you want to do?" He asks calmly.

"Give us a minute." Says Chiyomi as she grabs a slightly sobbing Konoka and pulls her aside.

"What about you little bro?" He asks as he bends down and gently pats Shinta on the head.

"Um…um…*Sniff* Umm… o… ok." Shinta replies as he stops crying.

"Thanks little bro." Shiro looks towards his sisters. "What about you two?"

"Ok… we will go… but only because I want to bitch out that voice for playing such a horrible prank on us." Chiyomi cries looking rather pissed off. "I swear I will kill him for saying that we are dead… the NERVE!"

Shiro sighs. "Very well, let's get going to Cat Street then." He begins heading towards Cadoi City, his siblings follow suit.

**At Cadoi City**

Cadoi City is a rather tiny section of the Shibuya District. This area is more of a housing section, with three or four trendy shops scattered about. It is more commonly used a bypass between Scramble and the more popular Miyashita Park and Cat Street.

The four of them walk to a surprisingly crowded area, with about forty people crowded around the entrance to the Towa Records bypass, which will eventually lead to Cat Street.

"What the…" Shiro says in mild shock as he looks around to see actual people.

"Look Onii-san, other players." Shinta says in excitement as he runs over to them.

"Other players… Lil' bro… what are you talking about." He says as he looks to Konoka and Chiyomi, both of whom are slowly walking away from him and talking amongst themselves.

"Onii-san over here." He shouts and waves his hands to motion for Shiro, who sighs, and slowly walks over.

"What?" he says seeming bored as he looks towards the center of the group of people, only to see a strange man standing in the path. He is wearing a Black Hoodie and blue jeans, his hood is up and he has a red bandana covering his face. Shiro also notices one more thing about this person; he has wings, which barely extend past his shoulder.

"The hell?" Shiro says in a quizzical tone while eying the strange man.

"Want past this wall?" the man replies.

"Huh?"

"Want past this wall?"

"What wall?"

"Onii-san, don't you know, the reapers set up walls to test to see if us players can pass their test and enter other areas" Shinta says, seemingly coming from nowhere.

"Wait… WHAT?" Shiro says staring blankly at Shinta.

"What what?" Chiyomi says as she and Konoka walk over to Shiro.

"Umm… lil' bro, what are you saying?" He questions again.

"It's my game Onii-san." He says while staring at the man with wings.

"Want past this wall?"

"What do I have to do?"

"It is very simple." He pauses and takes a breath. "Find the path of least resistance, and follow it."

"OK" Shinta exclaims as he grabs Konoka and drags her away from Shiro and Chiyomi, who both follow.  
"Shinta… umm… could you like please explain all this?" Konoka says while twirling her hair.

"Well, it is the game that I made in my dreams."

"Wait… those dreams, the ones you have had since Mom died? Chiyomi chimes in.

"Yes Onee-chan, the ones where mom was playing for her life."

"But… wait…" Shiro thinks for a second, "Didn't you only have those dreams for a week?"

"Yes… but Onii-san, this is my dream… my game!" Shinta now decides to look around the area.

"Umm… Shinta… what are you doing?"

"Looking for the path of least resistance Kono-chan." He says cheerfully while searching everywhere.

"Look… I'm confused… what are we doing?" Chiyomi says in a pissed off tone.

"I assume looking for a shortcut." Shiro chimes in unexpectedly. "I mean, path of least resistance may also mean the easiest and quickest path to our destination."

"Exactly Onii-san." Shinta says while searching.

"How did you know that bro?" Konoka says while thinking about what to do.

"Umm… not… sure, it kinda just came to me." He says sounding very confused.

"Well… if it is a shortcut to Cat Street we need, then follow ME!" Konoka chirps as she grabs Shiro and walks to the alleyway behind the CADOI CITY SHOPS shopping center.

"I know of this quick way to get to Miyashita Park, which is right next to Cat Street."

"Wait sis… is this the path we used to sneak home from that double date?" Chiyomi smiles thinking about that day in which she and Konoka doubled with these very hot twins.

"Exactly sis."

"Wait… when was this?" Shiro says in a mildly concerned voice.

"I'll explain later DAD…" Konoka laughs and pats Shiro on the back. "Relax bro… that was like 4 years ago."

"… We will discuss that later I guess." Shiro says as the group walks to the alleyway, only to see another man in a black hoodie with wings.

"Congratulations players, you four have passed the first trial." The hooded man says in a bored tone.

"Are you a Reaper?" Shinta asks curiously.

"Yes I am."

"Hehehe… THIS… IS… AWESOME!" he shouts excitedly as he runs to Shiro and hugs him. "Onii-san this is the game from my dream."

"…" Shiro stares for a second, but remains silent.

"Please Mr. Reaper, explain all this to us." He says rather bored like and begins tapping his foot.

"As you wish." The Reaper begins his explanation.

"Welcome to the game. All players playing the game are dead and would normally be competing for their lives."

"Wait… what?"

"However, due to extraordinary circumstances, today you are participating in a special version of the game."

"Hold on a sec…" Shiro starts to say, but is cut off.

"A normal game takes place over a span of one week, however this game is special."

"You already said it w…"

"Each player in this game is competing for the chance of becoming the next composer."

"Compo…"

"The composer is the ruler of the game and controls the fate of those who he deems worthy of a second shot at life."

"Please slow do…"

"The former composer was killed, so a search for a new composer was deemed necessary according to the laws of the angels."

"Angels…"

"Please continue on to the next trial, and good luck in your pursuit of great power." The reaper vanishes and the barely visible wall that no one seemed to notice disappears.

"What was that?" Konoka exclaims in shock.

"I… umm…"

"I told you guys… it is the game from my dreams, except a special version of it." Shinta says as he runs towards Miyashita Park.

"Lil' bro wait." Shiro says as he watches his brother run off.

"Let's follow him Shiro," Chiyomi says.

"Okay" he says as he looks to Konoka, who nods in return, and the three of them head towards Miyashita Park to see what awaits them there.

**At Miyashita Park**

Miyashita Park, one of the most scenic areas the Shibuya District has to offer. Most who go to the park usually head up on the overpass, which provides the most beautiful display of nature within a city setting. The park, while it has buildings surrounding it and even one shop located in the center, is the spot where young minds gather to relax and exchange ideas, usually under the giant tree located in the south-east part of the park. The vast green field seems to stretch on forever and the sight of the flowers and trees makes it seem as though you are as far away from the city as you could be.

Chiyomi and Konoka walk around the park for a bit, observing the scenery and looking for any sign of their brothers. After a few minutes of searching, they decide to head up the overpass to get a great view of the whole park. When they get to the overpass they find Shiro, who seems to be lost in thought as he gazes out into the park. They also spot Shinta not to far away circling around another reaper, a reaper who is guarding a wall.

"Onee-san!" Shinta exclaims as he runs to Konoka and hugs her leg. "Onee-san, it's another wall!" he says as he lets go of her leg and goes back to circling the reaper.

"Oh… Konoka, Chiyomi, hello." Shiro says stoically as he gazes out into the park. "We have to clear another wall."

"Are you okay?" Konoka asks Shiro as she looks looks over at the reaper. She then wanders over to him herself. "Hello?"

"Want past this wall?" The reaper asks.

"What do we have to do this time?" Konoka questions as Chiyomi also walks over to listen.

"The path is blocked; a wall in your way, even a simple solution may take all day." He pauses. "A key to success is what you seek; find it at the highest peak."

"Hi…gh…est peak?" Konoka and Chiyomi say together as they look at each other in utter confusion.

"I have been trying to look for that this whole time." Shiro replies.

"Anything?" Chiyomi asks.

"Just that tree, but Shinta cannot climb it."

"Wait… maybe we do not have to actually clear this mission." Says Konoka.

"How so?" inquires Chiyomi.

"Leave it to me." Konoka says with a sly smile. "Please grab Shinta, move away, and don't look over here, I'll take care of the rest."

"Ok" Shiro says as he walks over, picks Shinta up, and carrying him over his shoulder walks away with Chiyomi right behind him.

About 10 minutes pass before Konoka walks back over, with a smug look on her face.

"Finished!" she exclaims pointing to the reaper, who is now lying on the ground passed out.

"YOU DIDN'T!" Chiyomi shouts as she and Shiro look rather angrily at her.

"What… I just gave him a massage and I may have applied pressure to a certain point, and it may have put him to sleep."

"Umm… Konoka…" Chiyomi pauses. "HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GET PAST THE WALL NOW!?"

"Well… Miss Grumpy, I searched his pockets for anything interesting, like the solution to the wall or something, then I found this…" Konoka reaches into her pocket and pulls out a yellow colored pin with a Black, key-like design in the center of it. "I think it will open the wall."

"ONEE-SAN! That is cheating!" Shinta exclaims as he jumps up and snatches the key-pin away from her. "We did not complete the clear condition for the wall." He says rather righteously.

"Is that a problem?" Chiyomi interjects in a moody tone. "Should we actually have to solve these meaningless, tedious puzzles?"

"Yes Onee-san, it is part of the rules." Shinta says with more vigor. "If we do not obey the rules, then we would have cheated our way through the mission."

"Listen here you little righteous brat!" Chiyomi yells. "I do not feel like even bothering with this stupid ass game at all. The only reason I am even putting up with this inane little waste of my afterlife is to find out who did this to us and make them regret their very existence. So why don't you just take your little self-righteous attitude of yours and shove it up your adopted ass!"

"…" Shinta is stunned and just stares at his sister. His eyes begin to well up and he begins shaking a little bit.

"Chiyomi!" Konoka exclaims as she slaps her sister. "Why did you say that?"

"It is about time that little brat found out who he is!" she says in a huff as she then snatches the key away from Shinta, who is now crying uncontrollably. He storms off over towards the wall.

"Oh Shinta…" Konoka says as she hugs him tightly. "It's oka…"

"Get away!" he exclaims and Konoka is suddenly knocked away by some unknown force. "Stay away from me!" he screams.

"Brother…" Shiro says as he looks at the now unconscious Konoka.

"I am not your brother Shiro!" Shinta cries out as he begins to glow and a giant circle of light appears underneath Chiyomi.

"Brother… please calm down." Shiro says calmly as he walks closer to Shinta.

"SHUT UP! STOP CALLING ME BROTHER!" Shinta yells as both he and the circle glows more.

"SHINTA STOP NOW!" Shiro yells as he grabs Shinta, who then glows fiercely, and begins glaring at Shiro.

"LET GO!" he roars and knocks Shiro away. Then, Shinta' hand starts to glow as he points his finger at Shiro. A tiny laser fires at him. Shockingly enough, the beam that should have hit Shiro dead on was deflected and a strange man now stands in front of Shiro.

"For a half-angel that was rather impressive." The man says as he walks over to Shinta and easily dispels the aura and the glowing circle. "Now please settle down little one." Says the man with the all to familiar voice.

"Who are you?" Shiro questions as he stands to face his little brother and the mysterious man.

"We will talk more when you make it to my Café." He smugly says as he picks up Konoka and then looks to Shiro. "Oh, I'll be taking her with me however." Then, as suddenly as he appeared, he vanished.

"Ko…no…ka?" Shiro says as he walks over to Chiyomi, who is now in a panicked state.

"OK… WHAT THE HELL…" She pauses. "So lemme get this straight… our little reject of an adopted brother is some half-angel freak and almost killed us, until that asshole appeared to save us, only to tell us to meet him at his Café and he decides to take Konoka and not the little half-breed waste of sperm with him!" she shouts in a rage.

"Sis…" Shiro says as he looks to Shinta.

"Don't sis me Shiro." She glares at him. "Ever since the day mom and dad found the little mistake on our doorstep, he has been nothing but a spoiled little brat who could get away with murder. In addition, it is about goddamned time he learns the truth. And another thing…"

"Chiyomi, stop…" Shiro interrupts. "That is no way to talk to him… I think it would be best to just move on for now so that we can save Konoka."

"Whatever." She finally uses the key pin and the wall disappears, as does the key pin. Chiyomi then storms off in a huff.

"Shinta… are you ok?" Shiro asks patting his little brother on the head.

"She is a brat." Shinta says as he stands. "I hate her and I hate the fact that she cheated in my game, cheating will not be tolerated." He storms off after Chiyomi.

"Calm down both of you." Shiro follows them to Cat Street.

**At Cat Street**

Cat Street, the essence of Shibuya. Known for its many trendy stores and of course its world renowned café. This place could rival some of the world big fashion capitals. Know as the birthplace of Shibuya's biggest and most well known designer, CAT. It has said that most of his inspirations have all started here. This usually bustling business center is filled with both houses and shops. It is easily comparable to an outdoor mall.

"LOOK YOU LITTLE WHINY BRAT, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT WAS CHEATING OR NOT, ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT WE CLEARED THE FREAKING WALL! NOW WE CAN GO AFTER THAT ASSHOLE WHO KILLED US!" Chiyomi yells.

"CHEATING IS AGAINST THE RULES AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN MY GAME!" Shinta snaps back.

"OH REALLY!"

"YEAH REALLY!"

"OH REALLY!"

"YEAH REALLY!"

"NO WAY… NO FREAKING WAY, YOU MUST BE THE DUMBEST PERSON IN EXISTANCE TO THINK THAT YOU RUN THIS GAME! THIS GAME THAT NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS WOULD PLAY, A GAME THAT IS SO IDIOTIC AND REDUNDANT THAT IT MAKES MY BRAIN LOSE BRAIN CELLS JUST THINKING ABOUT ITS STUPID! YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS IS YOUR GAME THEN SHINTA, BECAUSE YOU AND THIS GAME HAVE MANY, MANY THINGS IN COMMON!" Chiyomi screams, as Shinta begins to cry again.

"Chiyomi, that's enough!" Shiro says as he slaps his sister across the face. "Honestly, leave the kid alone, its not like he did anything to you. In fact, I'm pretty that he only wanted to do what was right and abide by the bylaws set… by… the… angels…" Shiros voice trails as he realizes that he now suddenly has knowledge of most, if not all of the rules of the game.

"Look, it doesn't matter." Shinta says, he stops crying. "Can we just go to the café now?" He almost whines as he points to the café.

"Want past this wall?" asks a reaper who seems to appear from nowhere. A wall appears as well blocking the street so that they cannot get by.

"NOT AGAIN…" Chiyomi sighs as she looks at the reaper, then a smug look appears on her face.

"What is it sis?" Shiro asks as he looks at her.

"Just watch." She smirks as she glares at Shinta. "Shinta, my darling little brother, I am truly and deeply sorry for questioning your control over the game."

"You should be." He replies as he sticks his tongue out at her.

"You know little bro, I bet that because this is YOUR game, you could easily command that reaper to remove the wall so that we can save Konoka."

"Umm… I guess I could… I think?" he says as he walks to the reaper. "I command you to let down the wall."

"…" the reaper just stares

"As the ruler of this game, I command you to let the wall down." Shinta says starting to get angry.

"Ruler… you are just a pathetic, powerless little twerp that has no say in whether or not I let the wall down."

"I SAID… LET THE WALL DOWN!!" Shinta now begins to glow once more and his pure white eyes now seem to pierce through the reaper.

"N… No… I will not let this wall down for you," the reaper says with weak resolve.

"BOW TO YOUR MASTER!" Shinta screams as his aura flares and a giant beam of light over takes his body. It rapidly expands until everything in the whole district is covered in the radiant glow of his light.

After a minute or so, the light fades and Shinta falls to the ground, his hair now colored pure white. Shiro remains perfectly fine, as does Chiyomi, the reaper and his wall however, are no more.

"Wow… I guess I was actually wrong little brother, you really do run this game!" she says as she picks him up and hugs him.

"Get off me you filthy worm, you do not have the right to touch this much power!" Shinta snaps as he quickly opens his eyes and knocks Chiyomi away. "Let's just go save Konoka." He disappears and then reappears in front of the door to the café.

"Shinta." Shiro says as he walks over to the door as well, and with Chiyomi following behind they open the door and enter the café.

**CAT CAFÉ**

As they walk in to the café they see Konoka sitting at the third table from the front and sipping hot cocoa. The beautifully decorated café is empty for the most part and the old-fashion decorum makes it seem like you walked into a 19th century English castle. Konoka takes another sip of her hot cocoa and smiles at her family.

"Oh hey family! Isn't this place awesome!" she says as she puts the hot cocoa down and runs over to hug her brothers and sister.

"Thank god you are safe, do you know how worried I was?" Shiro demands in a dad-like manner.

"Relax DAD… Mr. H is totally awesome and chill; he is like, the nicest person on earth."

"Mr.?" the 3 of them say in unison.

Just then, a familiar looking man walks into the front of the café holding two envelopes. The group just stares at him and before anyone has a chance to get angry, or question him, he points the envelopes to two of them with a smile.

"Congratulations on winning my little game."

The four of them just smile and they begin talking about the future of their lives and what is about to happen in this new crazy game of life and death, that one of them will have the privilege of running.

_**CONCLUSION**_

"Production of a new Composer"

I write this report on behalf of myself to inform you that I, Mr. Sanae Hanekoma, will be leaving my post as Producer. I, however, shall hold one final game, a game in which both a new composer and producer will be found. By the time you receive this letter a new composer and producer will have been chosen. Although young, I am certain that this new composer, one whom I have chosen, shall run a fair and honest game. They have impressed me and are a shining example of what it takes to run a game. The new producer, another from the group that I handpicked, will prove to be an outstanding example of what a producer should be. Their nature will ensure that the game runs smoothly and that the rules are upheld. I now take this time to reminisce about my "mistake," only to realize how much it changed things and to remind you that "HE" is still out there, seeking power. Please be careful in this matter and watch over Shibuya, for if he returns, it might spell disaster for the angels, as well as you, my old friend. Now I depart from Shibuya to another land in hope that I may one day see you again and recall the old times over coffee.

SINCERELY,

SANAE "MR.H" HANEKOMA


End file.
